Transcript The nature of student engagement and why it matters so much.

The nature of student
engagement and why it
matters so much.
Colin Bryson
Enhancing engagement
Stronger student engagement enhances
 Student
learning
 Achievement
 Retention and persistence
 Students having a positive experience in HE
 Our fulfilment and enjoyment as staff!
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Conceptions of engagement – the
NSSE
Measuring engagement
 A focus in USA on active classroom
behaviours - (National Student Survey on
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Engagement) – George Kuh
Survey used very widely
http://nsse.iub.edu/index.cfm
 Over 50 publications
 Proxy for quality
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Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Australian perspectives
Williams’ index (1982)
 Focus on first year experience – big
surveys in 1994, 1999 and 2004
 Connectedness (McInnis, 1995)
 Negotiated engagement (McInnis, 2001)
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Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Similar concepts to engagement
Belonging (Kember et al, 2001)
 Academic and social integration (Tinto,
1993)
 Involvement (Tinto, 2006)
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Strong links to research inter alia on
retention, persistence, transition….
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Theoretical perspectives
social cognition (Webber, 2004)
 identity – ‘student selves’ (Horstmanoff
and Zimitat, 2003)
 social constructivism
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Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Mann (2001) alienating forces
Performativity
 Culture shock – “outsiders in a foreign
land”…other
 Exercise of disciplinary power
 Disempowerment – Marxian ‘exile from the
self’

Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Our take on engagement
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Engagement is a concept which encompasses
the perceptions, expectations and experience of
being a student and the construction of being a
student in HE.
Engagement underpins learning and is the glue
that binds it together – both located in being and
becoming.
Strong link to intellectual development (Perry,
1970/1999: Baxter Magolda, 1992)
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Conceptual models of SE
Multi-dimensioned engagement (Krause
and Coates, 2008)
 A relational model (Solomonides and Reid
(2008)

Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Sense of Being a
Professional
Sense of Discipline
Knowledge
Reid and Davies 2002
Dahlgren et al 2005
?
Reid and Petocz 2004
Sense of Being
Confidence
Happiness
Imaginative
Self Knowledge
Barnett 2004,
2005, 2007
Abrandt Dahlgren
et al 2007
Sense of
Transformation
Learning
Understanding
Thinking
Dall’Alba and
Barnacle 2007
Sense of
Engagement
?
Bryson and Hand 2008
Coates 2006
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
?
But SE cannot easily be reduced to
such a model
Multi-faceted and complex – dimensions,
levels, dynamic and fluid (Bryson and
Hand, 2007)
 Every student is an individual and different
(Haggis, 2004)

Glasgow seminar, March 2009
The Student view
 Drawn
from a study about their experience as
students
 10 focus groups of Nottingham Business
School students
 Original research question was not about
engagement!
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Student engagement: Poor
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I do almost little or no work with modules, I don’t like – I
know you’re supposed to do but I find it really hard to
motivate myself – when you’re sat at home and you’ve
got what you don’t like doing, you’re not going to do it.
[first year student]
When you’ve got a subject that you’re not particularly
interested in to begin you then why go to a seminar on
the lecture which is so boring… just take the notes off
the VLE [first year student]
My first year was an absolute joke, I just didn’t go in
enough, I didn’t do any work. I just didn’t go in and I
missed everything you needed to know. [second year
student]
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Student engagement: False
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We don’t actually get taught how to manage,
how to actually do the jobs we are going to be
doing, just the academic stuff. [second year
student]
Everyone’s like … the mark is important …. well
academic wise its not about what I’ve learnt
anyway it’s all about what I get [final year
student].
The joyless slog [final year student].
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Student engagement: Staff
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…it’s definitely the lecturer that can really make
it interesting or can almost destroy a subject.
[first year student]
They just like doing their thing, they go through
what they’re going to do, it’s not really
interesting, they’re not actually getting your
attention. [second year student]
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Student engagement:
Relationships
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… (but at university) lecturers or seminar tutors
don’t take the time to know you at all, you’re just
another number to them ….. that hits you a bit in
the first year, so you think why go in, this teacher
doesn’t care [second year student]
Like I sent her an email cause I couldn’t go to
her thing, but she was so nasty back [second
year student]
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Key influences on engagement
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Student expectations and perceptions
Balances between challenge and
appropriate workload
Degrees of choice, autonomy, risk, and
opportunities for growth and enjoyment
Trust relationships
Communication and discourse
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
The staff perspective on
engagement
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A survey of NTU staff
Followed by case studies in NBS
Represented a range of experience and role
In-depth interviews
Backed up by discussions with learning and
teaching coordinators in other subjects and
other universities.
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Emergent themes from staff 1
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Strong emotional involvement in role – want to
work with engaged students
Shared beliefs broadly similar with engagement
agenda
Relationships with students are important but
strong element of the teacher being in charge
Students should take more responsibility for their
own engagement.
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Emergent themes from staff 2
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Tend to begin each year in optimistic mode but then
rapidly become disappointed as staff expectations were
lowered by the students’ lack of engagement.
Staff lack confidence to deploy strategies to deal with
less engaged students. Tendency to conform to ‘norms’
Staff felt constrained and disempowered by excessive
workload, not having enough time, unsupportive
management and excessive class sizes – which
overwhelmed any belief that they could make a
difference.
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Conceptions of engagement
Staff hold a different conception than
students – they desire all students to
reach a plane of learning which
demonstrates critical understanding,
reflection and autonomy
 Unsurprisingly they are disappointed
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Glasgow seminar, March 2009
The latest research
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A longitudinal study of students throughout their
degrees
Examining engagement, expectations,
transitions and intellectual development
Emphasis on context and changing perspective
– focus on the individual
As well as trying out practices and
policies…transition projects etc.
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
A whole new body of literature and
ideas….
Analysis rather emergent
Writing up the first three interviews
About to do the fourth…
Produced interim conference papers – host
of issues from this rich evidence
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Expectations
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Students ambitious and keen to do well
But very vague about academic issues – classes
and assessment – different but not sure how
Intended to work really hard, do whatever was
necessary
Appeared ready and willing to be engaged
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Social and academic integration
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Social transition really important – had made
friends but not formed relationships with
staff…or into the community of practice of
discipline
Academic integration rather minimal – getting by,
passing but….
So some indicators of engagement but not the
sort of strong engagement required for
intellectual development
Glasgow seminar, March 2009
Practice and Policy
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Curriculum design – content AND process
Delivery
Student involvement and empowerment – the
student voice
Induction and transition
Assessment
Staff development
Strategic level -
Glasgow seminar, March 2009